ben russell

OUT: Vince, Tyson IN: Petty, Spargo

Tim Smith on the flight so sounds like Smith in for Pedo.

Except that the coach has confirmed he's playing.

Okay.. So who's at FF then if T Mac misses as expected?

It's reasonably clear judging by the narrative coming from the club that Oliver is likely to be right for round 1 while T Mac is likely to miss so would be posting our round 1 teams to reflect that. I think it will look something like this: B: Hibberd, O McDonald, Jetta HB: Vince, Lever, Hunt C: Salem, Jones, Lewis HF: Fritsch, Hogan, Neal-Bullen F: Hannan, Pedersen, Garlett R: Gawn, Oliver, Petracca I: Melksham, Harmes, Tyson, Brayshaw E: Bugg, Frost, Stretch, Wagner

The one on the far left looks like a cross between Colin Garland and Adem Yze.

Mitch Hannan locked in until 2020.

Has there been any indication as to when the squad will be named?

Eagerly awaiting today's training report. Refresh button getting a workout!

Dom Barry gets another go at it with Port. Happy for him.

Three rounds down and Gryan Miers yet to be picked. Surprising.

Hopeful that we sign Sam Collins as a delisted FA and take picks 29, 31 and 36 to the draft.

Freo to get pick 2.

Not a rumour but if Garland retires (which seems likely) then I would be happy if the Dees picked up Sam Collins as a delisted FA. I've watched several games that he played for Freo and he looked impressive, was shocked they delisted him tbh. Would then leave us with 3 spots on the Senior list which would all be used in the second round of the Draft.

To all those upset about receiving pick 31, what were you realistically expecting for him? It was clear that no club was going to part with a first round pick for him, so are you disappointed we didn't get a pick earlier in the second round? He picked Port, the earliest pick they had in the entire draft was pick 31. It is what it is.

We get the best intercept defender in the league who is tracking even better than Rance did at his age and a heap of you are still whinging. The draft is a complete lottery. Lever is a sure thing. This is to be celebrated not bemoaned!

I watched the TAC Cup grand final and he was unbelievable. Did some seriously freakish things. Would not be disappointed to see him in the red and blue next year and beyond.

Travis King ✔@TravisKing West Coast has shut down Andrew Gaff trade talk, say there is no substance to the rumours he might go back to Victoria. Won't be traded. 11:56 AM - Oct 5, 2017

But.. but.. I thought that anonymous nobody on Facebook/Twitter said Melbourne were out of the race for Lever...

Jones: It's a pretty bitter pill to swallow #MFCMedia Jones: The players are hurting as much as our supporters are livid #MFCMedia Jones: The mood has been very flat. Yesterday was out of our control due to our performance on Saturday #MFCMedia Jones: It's a ruthless competition. This is an opportunity to address the inconsistencies in our performance #MFCMedia Jones: Credit to West Coast. They were able to get the job done yesterday #MFCMedia Jones: The last 5 minutes of the Adelaide and West Coast game was very nerve wracking #MFCMedia Jones: The blame falls on our shoulders #MFCMedia Jones: I couldn't be more optimistic about where we are heading though. Hopefully this experience leaves us in a better position #MFCMedia Jones to supporters: We've only got ourselves to blame - the entire result of the year put us in this position #MFCMedia Jones: We'll address those inconsistencies though and get it right. It can be frustrating and disappointing but we'll get there #MFCMedia Jones: You can't underestimate how good Collingwood were and how poor we were in some fundamental parts of our game #MFCMedia Jones on season as a whole: There's definitely been improvement, both individually and collectively #MFCMedia Jones: However, we also know that we've missed an opportunity here. It's a tough lesson to learn #MFCMedia Jones: You can sit back and feel sorry for yourself but you get what you put in #MFCMedia Jones: We'll go away and work hard to give ourselves every chance next season. This will spur us on #MFCMedia Jones on Clayton Oliver: He's pretty stiff to miss out on All Australian selection but I have no doubt he'll be in contention next year. Jones on Jack Viney: He'll be back better than ever next season #MFCMedia That's all from Nathan. We'll have the full video available later today #MFCMedia

Here's the copy and paste effort they are sending to those who emailed the club; "Thank you for taking the time to contact the Melbourne Football Club. It’s a desperately disappointing way to end what was a very close season. We’ve missed the finals by the smallest margin in the history of the game. With regard to the Collingwood game on Saturday, the effort in the first quarter clearly wasn’t there. Simon Goodwin has said throughout the year that we must respect the competition and that didn’t happen with our effort or intensity. Everyone at the Club is hurting and reflecting on the missed opportunities both from Saturday and the rest of the season and we will be for some time. 12 wins is progress for the Club and the most games we have won since 2006. We’ve also seen significant development of our younger players - Oliver, Petracca, Hunt, Viney, Brayshaw, Salem, which is a great sign for our future. We are fundamentally still a young and developing team. This experience will make us stronger, we will learn from it and use the development to become a better team going forward. We understand your frustration and disappointment. Thank you for your ongoing support to the club we appreciate your feedback."

So tell me what has changed from round 4 to now to indicate that the Pies will smash us. You've even gone as far as saying that they will smash us instead of that they might smash us. Please elaborate.

I know that just because we were less than impressive in a 10 goal win and the Pies were impressive against the Cats that it means absolutely nothing when the two teams play each other a fortnight later. To say the Pies will smash us is a silly comment.

Totally. Just like they did round 4 this year yeah?

Here's how I think we will line up round 1: B: Garland Dunn Jetta HB: Vince T McDonald Salem C: Brayshaw N Jones Vandenberg HF: Watts Pederson Harmes F: Garlett Hogan Kent R: Gawn, Viney, Tyson I: Oliver, B Kennedy, Frost, Bugg E: Grimes, M Jones, O McDonald